Many types of cleaning compositions have been developed to clean various types of products and/or surfaces. Some of these cleaning compositions included one or more compounds to disinfect, sanitize, and/or sterilize the product and/or surface. Acids and alcohols have been traditionally added to cleaning solutions as the principal biocide of the cleaning solution. The present invention relates to an improved cleaning composition having that includes at least one cationic biocides such as, but not limited to, biguanide compounds and/or quaternary ammonium salts (“quats”) as the anti-microbial active. The cleaning composition can include other traditional anti-microbial actives such as, but not limited to, one or more acids and/or alcohols. The cleaning composition is envisioned as being used in a wide variety of applications. As can be appreciated, the additives in the cleaning composition that are used in combination with the cationic biocide as the anti-microbial active may vary depending on the particular application of the cleaning composition.
Cleaning wipes are a relatively recent concept that has gained wide public acceptance, especially in the area of infant care products. Infant care wipes commonly include inverse emulsions (i.e. water-in-liquid). Cleaning wipes have also included waxes to polish and clean furniture and/or other metal, plastic and/or wood surfaces. Cleaning wipes have further included soaps and/or detergents to clean an individual's hands, countertops, floors, appliances, and/or the like. Cleaning wipes have also included ammonia to clean glass surfaces. Alcohol and various other biocides have been included on cleaning wipes to disinfect a variety of surfaces.
One type of biocide that has been used in cleaning wipes is quats. Liquid cleaners applied to cleaning wipes typically include relatively large amounts of quat. These cleaning wipes are typically used on hard surfaces such as floors, countertops, glass surfaces, sinks, toilets, appliances, and/or the like. Although quats are excellent biocides, quats can cause skin irritation when used in too high of concentrations. In addition, only about 50% of the quat is released from the wipe when the wipe is applied to a surface, thus added quat is included in the liquid cleaner to ensure that the desired amount of quat transfers to the cleaned surface. Other biocides such as biguanide compounds also have a low release rate from the wipe. Since the quat and/or biguanide compound is typically one of the higher cost components of the cleaner, the larger quat and/or biguanide concentrations used in the liquid cleaner translates into higher product costs. There have been various attempts to develop liquid cleaners having improved quat release from the cleaning wipes. Some cleaning formulations use a high weight percentage of isopropyl alcohol to promote quat release from the cleaning wipe. It has been observed that isopropyl alcohol in amounts of over about 12% can improve the quat release from the wipe. The use of isopropyl alcohol is also beneficial in that the alcohol has its own antimicrobial properties and cost substantially less than quats. Although the use of isopropyl alcohol in the cleaning formulation improves quat release from the wipe, a substantial amount of quat still remains on the cleaning wipe after use. In addition, local, state and/or federal governments have begun to promulgate regulations on the amount of isopropyl alcohol that can be used in cleaners. Indeed, in California, regulations have been proposed to regulate the use of cleaners containing over 4-5 weight percent isopropyl alcohol. As a result, cleaners having high concentrations of isopropyl alcohol may be less preferred.
Quats also tend to leave residues and/or cause streaking after being applied to various surfaces. The residue and streaking problems are of great concern to consumers since the visual appearance of the cleaned surface functions as a visual indicator of the effectiveness of the cleaner. Consumers also judge the cleaning effectiveness of the cleaner by touching the cleaned surface. Sticky surfaces typically indicate to the consumer that the surface has not been effectively cleaned. Cleaning formulations that tend to leave residues and/or cause streaking tend to produce a less shiny, thus a visually perceived less clean surface, and further tend to leave a sticky surface. This is especially true with mop and wet wipe applications, where such compositions are left to dry on the surface without rinsing. As a result, the consumer perceives that the cleaned surface has not be effectively cleaned irrespective of the fact the surface may have been properly cleaned and disinfected. Liquid cleaners having a high quat content are also subject to various local, state and/or federal regulations due to the toxicity of the quat in high concentrations.
Various types of biocides are also used to disinfect, sanitize, and/or sterilize tools and/or equipment. Such biocides are commonly used in the medical field. Biocides such as quats and biguanide compounds have typically not been used because of their cost. Typically alcohols are used as the disinfectant. However, the use of alcohol has come under more federal, state and local regulation, thus interest in the use of other biocides has gained interest in recent years.
Biocides are also used to disinfect, sanitize, and/or sterilize areas that have been exposed to infectious biological agents (e.g. anthrax, small pox). Presently, biocides such as quats and biguanide compounds have not been used for such applications.
In view of the present state of the art of cleaning compositions, there is a demand for an improved cleaning composition that can be used in a variety of applications to disinfect, sanitize, and/or sterilize surfaces without leaving undesired residues and/or streaking on the cleaned surface, without one or more components overly absorbing and/or adsorbing into the cleaned surface, and/or which cleaning composition is cost effective to use.